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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Using Launchy As An Application Launcher

Lauchy looking for Microsoft Word


Have you ever gone to start an application and then you couldn’t find it? Has your desktop become so cluttered with application shortcuts that you can’t find what you’re looking for? Has your “Start Menu” become just too unruly? Maybe you could use an application launcher. I started using Launchy a few months ago and it is a great time saver.

Launchy is a freeware application available for download from sourceforge.net. After initial installation you can activate it by hitting the “Alt” + “spacebar”. In the white box that appears you type the application that you’re looking for. Launchy will show several alternatives to what you have typed in, as you type it in. So in the picture above I started typing “Word” into Launchy and you can see that I only needed to go as far as typing in “W”. The more you use Launchy the easier it will be to find your applications, often with only using a few keyboard strokes.

Launchy can find web pages that you have been to but might have forgotten to bookmark. I just did this for this blog and I was able to find the url after typing in “Systems”. I’ve found that there is a Firefox add-in for Launchy, that even allows you to search through your Firefox bookmarks.

Lancuhy can be configured to search directories on your computer for frequently used files. This can help you find those files that you don’t remember what you called them or where you placed them. You can read about this in the documentation pdf. Launchy has other skins and plug-ins available, so there is a degree of customization available.

If you would like to try out some other application launchers, Lifehacker ran a Hive Five Best Application Launchers, where they suggested five application launchers (for Windows, Mac, and Linux), Launchy was in the list and there are some other suggestions from their readers as well.

Why not give Launchy (or another application launcher) a try? You just might find that you save a lot of time that you previously spent looking for your applications (and documents). Maybe this would even allow you to clean up your desktop. Are you using Launchy or some other application launcher? If you have any other comments, I would love to hear them. If you liked this article, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS or email, share it on del.icio.us or on Digg and pass it on to anyone that you think might appreciate it. Thank you. :)

Editor’s Note:

In addition to being off at training, I have had some family visiting me from out of town and have been very busy with the current phase of my current project at work, I hope to post more frequently again when things let up a little bit. On the DC Heron Family blog I did a couple of recent posts about a puppy reunion that we attended, progress that we have made since the fire, and a thank you to the German national soccer team for their play in the recent Euro2008 and what they gave their fans and Germany. Leo Babauta of Zenhabits recently got married and returned from a trip to Thailand. Leo, sorry to hear about the loss of your aunt.

On Deck…

I’ll be publishing posts about…

  • The next in my series of weight loss strategies
  • My next Spotlight on the web.
  • The next of my dating and relationship tips
  • More on productivity, web 2.0, social networking, family, parenting, health, and other things that you can use.

Other Posts That You Might Also Like to Read…

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Posted by Systems Overload at Thursday, July 24, 2008
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